Jimmy Burrow got the news on his phone just like everyone else.
“The deal is done,” Joe Burrow texted his folks.
So Robin and Jimmy Burrow did what parents do and texted, “Call us.”
“We had a good conversation,” Jimmy Burrow says. “He was happy it was done and certainly pleased with the outcome of the deal.”
But no mention from the kid who slept in the Star Wars bedroom and grew up to conquer the universe that it’s the richest NFL deal of all-time.
“That’s not Joe,” Jimmy Burrow says.
What a week for the Burrows, the first family of Ohio, and Gov. and Mrs. DeWine probably agree.
On Friday, there was the news avalanche crashing over the record five-year, $275 million extension that had TV crews perched on every nook and cranny of Paycor Stadium.
On Saturday, Jimmy and Robin plan to visit some of the 200 Cincinnati restaurants that have pledged to give nine percent of their proceeds on 9/9 in the “Dine For 9,” program of the Joe Burrow Foundation that promotes hunger security.
They’ll head back home and do more of the same in Athens Saturday night before driving over to Cleveland Sunday morning to hopefully watch Joe become the first Ohio-bred quarterback to lead the Bengals to a win over the Browns (1 p.m.-Cincinnati’s Local 12) in the 100th “Battle of Ohio.”
“Since he was at LSU, he has wanted to be in Ohio and play for the Bengals and that’s where we wanted him to be,” says Jimmy Burrow, now knowing he’s here through the 10th season of his career in 2029. “I know people before the draft were saying, ‘Maybe that’s not the place he would want to be.’ It makes it even more special in the state of Ohio for sure.”
Just like that 2020 draft and the Bengals taking Burrow No. 1 overall, the extension worked just as well.
“We were optimistic and positive about our feelings it would get done the whole time,” Jimmy Burrow says. “It’s a business and it’s complex, but never did we think, ‘Hey, this might not get done.’ We were confident the whole time.”
But the old Ohio University defensive coordinator used to immersing himself in the finer points stayed out of the weeds on this one. He knows his personnel.
